Veterans of the UK’s first Pride march celebrated the 50th anniversary by retracing the exact route that was walked in 1972.
Well over a thousand people met at the steps of St Martins-in-the-Field church on Charing Cross Road before walking through Oxford Street to Hyde Park.
Ted Brown, one of the organisers of the UK’s first official Gay Pride, told GAY TIMES he felt “a strong sense of achievement” as he marched once again in 2022.
“We now have civil partnerships, we have gay marriage, we have legal protection, and most importantly a significant proportion of lesbian, gay and trans people are proud of themselves and haven’t taken on the hate and the homophobia that’s been targeted at us for centuries,” he added.
It took place on 1 July 2022, the exact anniversary of the march on 1 July 1972.
Peter Tatchell, one of the UK’s most prominent human rights campaigners, noted that the event “had no corporate sponsors, no police, no arms manufacturers, no fossil fuel companies and no Home Office.”
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Instead, it was made up solely of veterans and allies seeking to highlight the injustices LGBTQ+ people continue to face.
“The Gay Liberation front changed my life,” Angela Mason, the former Director of Stonewall, told the crowd before the march got underway. “It made it possible for me and hundreds and thousands, and growing numbers, of people to live openly and freely.”
In 50 years, the UK will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the UK’s first official Pride march.
Looking to the future, Brown explained that he longs for a day where the Gay Liberation Front is no longer needed and that “people are treating each other as humans and as people deserving respect and love.”
See more pictures from the 2022 march below:
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
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